Thank you to everyone who voted for NAS and the brands we represent.  Your continued support is most appreciated.  As you can see from the above-mentioned results, the NAS team is compiling a formidable stable of diversified products, most of which are conveniently available off the shelf in Cairns, Brisbane, Newcastle and the Sunshine Coast.

Moving forward, the more 'popular' we become, the more quality brands we will have access to in the future – a win-win for NAS and our valued customers.

“According to data collected over roughly the past three weeks, free-to-air viewing has increased around 30 minutes a day, subscription video-on-demand is up around 20 minutes a day and pay TV channel viewing is up around 10 minutes a day. Movies, which includes rentals and purchases, are up 70 per cent.”
“The free-to-air viewing numbers capture live and recorded viewing on Fetch's personal video recorder set-top box. Free-to-air broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) services are also up strongly.”

“This was compared to the five weeks leading up to government restrictions from February 9 to March 8.”

"Despite the lack of live sport, FTA is generating the majority of the growth, powered by news and reality," Fetch chief executive Scott Lorson said. 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/free-to-air-tv-biggest-viewing-gainer-amid-lockdown-20200422-p54maf

“Here's one side effect of coronavirus the medical experts haven't yet mentioned: it is spurring families to plop down on the couch to watch television together – in some cases, for the first time.”

"Before this, we didn't ever watch TV together," says Emma McCormack, a technology sector worker and mother of three in Sydney's Hunters Hill. "The kids are usually on YouTube, I watch something on my iPad, and my husband Dave might sit down with the boys to watch sport.”
"But because everything is more relaxed, all bets are off."

"We are finding it a strange upside," says Zoe Shurgold, a communications specialist in Melbourne's Northcote who is enjoying the experience of evening viewing with her partner Paul McAleer, an urban planner, and their boys Dylan, 10, and Myles, seven. "We have a lot of laughs. You forget during your busy day-to-day working life how much their little personalities are growing."

“It's not just the streaming services that are grabbing fresh attention. After years of decline, free-to-air television is enjoying a major boost in viewing numbers too.”

“In the weeks since Australia went into various stages of lockdown on March 16, prime-time audiences (7.30pm to 9.30pm) are up 13.2 per cent compared to the weeks before lockdown. Year on year it's a smaller lift of 4.9 per cent, but in every other timeslot numbers are up by between 24.5 and 50.2 per cent compared to a year ago.”

“Audiences are up in all demographics, but younger viewers are conspicuous in their return to free-to-air programming.”

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/it-s-back-to-the-couch-as-lockdown-spurs-boost-in-family-tv-viewing-20200416-p54kko.html

“New research from Roy Morgan shows over 13.1 million Australians (62.4%) said TV was a main source of news during the June quarter 2020, up from 12.6 million (60.0%) during the March quarter.”

"TV emerged as the favoured news source during the period of lockdown for more Australians than any other as over 4.3 million Australians were sent to work from home in March. Roy Morgan’s data on working from home shows there were still 3.9 million Australians working from home in July.”
“Other sources of news were led by the Internet used by over 11.2 million Australians (53.4%) – including 6.4 million (30.5%) using Social Media followed by Radio nominated by 6 million (28.5%), news or newspaper website/apps mentioned by 5.8 million (27.6%) and printed newspapers named by 3.8 million (18%).”

“Within the broader category of the internet over 3.3 million Australians (15.7%) used news feed sites such as Google News, Apple News, Feedly etc., a further 1.6 million (7.4%) used email subscriptions or updates and 1.4 million (6.9%) use other websites or apps. There are 940,000 (4.5%) who used magazines (printed, website or app) as a main source of news.”

“These latest findings are drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, Australia’s most comprehensive consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with 50,000 Australians each year.”

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.roymorgan.com/findings/8528-main-sources-of-news-trust-june-2020-202009290519

“A Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by Free TV reveals the immense value Australians place on free, universally accessible news, entertainment, sport and drama.”

“The Deloitte research also quantifies the substantial contribution commercial television makes to the economy, contributing $2.3 billion to the nation’s GDP in 2019, employing more than 16,000 people and investing $1.6 billion annually in producing Australian content.”

“The Everybody Gets It report found that 89 per cent of Australians think commercial television is a valuable service and 76 per cent believe it is more important than ever, while 86 per cent think it supports Australian culture.”

“Audience surges of 15-20 per cent during the peaks of the Covid-19 and bushfire crises suggest that Australians turn to commercial television in times of uncertainty – and expect it to be there for them. In this context, it is no surprise that news emerged as the primary reason people give for watching commercial television – 75 per cent of respondents said they trust commercial television news.”

Free TV CEO, Bridget Fair said: “In commissioning this report, Free TV Australia wanted to shine a light on our industry and its many contributions to Australia’s society and culture. We were also keen to ‘take the temperature’ of our audiences to understand the value they place on this free, universal service.”

“It turns out that despite increased competition, Australians value commercial television even more than we expected. Access to local entertainment, news and sport is a very big deal for viewers, with 95 per cent telling us that losing commercial television would have an impact on society, particularly through the loss of access to news, sport and entertainment.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
advanced-television.com/2020/07/20/report-aussies-value-commercial-tv-more-than-ever/

“It’s official. The newest member of the Network 10 family is 10 Shake and the new FTA channel is launching on viewers screens from 6am on Sunday, 27 September.

Every day from 6.00am – 6.00pm 10 Shake will boast programs just for the kids. For the first time on free-to-air TV, young ones will be able to tune into The Loud House, Henry Danger, Sam & Cat and The Thundermans.

Also favourites like SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Dora The Explorer, Butterbean’s Café and locally produced, Ready Set Dance, Totally Wild and Scope.

From 6pm each night the programming mix switches to adults with The Charlotte Show, Teen Mom Australia (Season 1), Ridiculousness (Season 8), Catfish: The TV Show (Season 6) and The Daily Show With Trevor Noah making their free-to-air debuts while The Late Late Show With James Corden, Comedy Central Roasts, Drunk History US, Ex On The Beach UK and Lip Sync Battle will also be entertaining viewers.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.mediaweek.com.au/new-fta-tv-channel-10-shake-transmitting-6am-on-sunday-27-september/

“Foxtel will continue using Optus’ satellites until at least 2031 thanks to a new contract extension.”

“The deal comes two years after Foxtel announced it would be moving all customers over to satellite and ditching cable delivery. The financial details of the new extension have not been revealed.”

“Optus Satellite owns and operates Australia and New Zealand’s largest fleet of spacecraft with five satellites currently in orbit. Ben White, Optus managing director of wholesale, satellite and strategy, said the extension was important for Optus to maintain its position as the market leader.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
mumbrella.com.au/optus-and-foxtel-extend-satellite-service-contract-until-2031-636214

"Streaming service Stan has launched a sports-only channel in an attempt to expand its product offering in the highly competitive video-on-demand market."

"In a statement lodged to the Australian Stock Exchange on Monday, owners Nine Entertainment said the major streaming service would begin offering an on-demand sport streaming service as a bundle to Stan customers."

"The launch of Stan Sport coincides with an agreement between Nine and Rugby Australia for the broadcasting rights for all Wallabies and Wallaroos games for the next three years."

"Worth approximately $100 million, the deal also gives Nine the right to extend the rugby union agreement for another two years."

"The deal will include trans-Tasman matches, South African competitions and Super Rugby games."

"Nine’s decision to initiate a dedicated sports-on-demand product is in direct competition with sports streaming service Kayo, which is owned by Foxtel."

"In its statement, Nine said the rugby union agreement was a core element of Stan Sport, which is also seeking to acquire similar rights with other major sports."

The complete article can be accessed here: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/streaming/nine-launches-stan-sport-following-rugby-union-deal/news-story/009c19cbc7511bdd87668c990f2e7133

“Market research firm IDC has forecast the worldwide video surveillance camera market to almost double from $23.6 billion in 2019 to $44 billion by 2025, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate of nearly 13%.”

“Video surveillance camera growth is being driven by the adoption of smart camera systems and the adoption of the video analytics applications that enable them,” said Mike Jude, Research Director for IDC’s Video Surveillance and Vision Applications practice.

“Although the market has seen a short-term decline driven by COVID-19 impacts, the longer-term prospects will be driven by the increasing use of video surveillance in law enforcement and physical security.”

“Currently, consumer video surveillance cameras, which includes home security systems and mobile cameras (such as mobile dashcams in cars), represent 32% of the global total.”

“Looking ahead, IDC expects that the blacklisting of Chinese camera manufacturers by the US government will not slow down broader market growth, but it will open the market to smaller camera producers.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.channelnews.com.au/global-security-camera-market-forecast-to-double-to-44b-by-2025/

“According to the results of a recent survey of 10,000 broadband households conducted at the end of 2019 by market research firm Parks Associates, adoption of home control systems saw a 38 per cent year-over-year growth rate. While the figures apply to the U.S. market, they have relevance to ANZ and confirm a slowly building trend.”

“In addition, the report, “Smart Home Buyer Journey and User Experience,” also confirmed that 18 per cent of broadband households in the U.S. have a home control system and that roughly half of households with such a system purchased it with their first smart home device.”

“The majority of home control systems are integrated into a home security system, indicating the success of the security channel in particular in promoting the value proposition of home systems,” said Brad Russell, research director, Connected Home, Parks Associates. 

The complete article can be accessed here:
securityelectronicsandnetworks.com/2020/06/05/home-automation-jumps-38-per-cent-in-12-months/

“Australian researchers shattered the record for the fastest internet speed achieved, hitting 44.2Tbps — or 1000 HD movies a second.”
“Australia’s internet isn’t exactly world-class, but it could one day lead the world in speed if it’s the first to take advantage of a new discovery by some local scientists.”

“A team of researchers from three Melbourne universities have this week claimed the world’s fastest internet speed using a single optical chip, which they said will facilitate faster networks with more capacity in the future.”

“The new record speed of 44.2tbps (terabits per second) shattered the previous record of 30.1tbps, and the chip used in the latest test is said to have used less than half the spectrum.”

“That speed is roughly one million times the speed you’d currently get on the most popular NBN bundle.”

“The researchers from RMIT, Monash and Swinburne universities used something called a micro-comb to replace 80 separate lasers inside a fibre optic cable with one chip.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/australian-researchers-claim-new-internet-speed-record-of-442-tbps/news-story/e8ef354168bcb3aaa8b4fa672101cc67

“SpaceX Starlink beta users are starting to share their experiences, confirming that the satellite service can provide fast broadband speeds and low latencies in remote areas. A beta tester who goes by the Reddit username Wandering-coder brought his new Starlink equipment and a portable power supply to a national forest in Idaho, where he connected to the Internet with 120Mbps download speeds.”

Starlink "works beautifully," he wrote yesterday. "I did a real-time video call and some tests. My power supply is max 300w, and the drain for the whole system while active was around 116w." Starlink pulled that off in a place where Wandering-coder couldn't get any cellular service from Google Fi, which relies on the T-Mobile and US Cellular networks. "There is no cell here with any carrier," he wrote. 

The complete article can be accessed here:
arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/11/spacex-starlink-beta-tester-takes-user-terminal-into-forest-gets-120mbps/

“The RBA has announced an “unprecedented” cash rate cut today that could save Aussies around $15,000 on their mortgage.”  

“The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate today to an all-time low of 0.10 per cent from 0.25 per cent.”

“This effectively takes the cash rate to near negative interest rates on Melbourne Cup day.”

“Many economists predicted the cut after the RBA kept the interest rate at 0.25 per cent in October on Budget day.”

“The RBA, which meets on the first Tuesday of every month where the board makes a decision on interest rates, has reduced the rate five times since 2016.”

“The rate was dropped to a historic low in March this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.news.com.au/finance/economy/interest-rates/economists-predict-a-reserve-bank-cash-rate-cut-to-010-per-cent/news-story/417d09f0252e24e0dd2e0a89bc2126f7

“The Reserve Bank of Australia says its “best guess” is Australia’s economy grew in the September quarter, spelling an end to the recession.”

“The Reserve Bank of Australia says its “best guess” is Australia’s economy will grow in the September quarter, ending the recession.”

“At senate estimates on Tuesday, RBA deputy governor Guy Debelle said Victoria’s 12-week lockdown would not hinder the nation’s recovery from its first economic recession in over three decades.”

“Our best guess is it looks like the September quarter for the country recorded positive growth rather than slightly negative,” Dr Debelle said.

“As best as we can tell, the growth elsewhere in the country was more than the drag from Victoria, and possibly the drag from Victoria was a little less than what we guessed back in August.”

“The RBA is expecting gross domestic product (GDP) for the September quarter will track positive, following its steep fall in the previous quarter by 7 per cent.”

“A technical recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/reserve-bank-indicates-recession-is-over/news-story/ba17f62cd7a23450f7b2e1c23512a790

“And now for the good news. The recession only has a few weeks left to run.”

“Actually, the news is even better. Most leading economists reckon the September quarter will show Australia's economy grew, even with the second-wave virus-induced shutdown in Victoria.”

“So, it seems by the time we found out we had experienced the worst downturn since the Great Depression, we'd already entered the next boom.”
“Except, it doesn't quite feel as though we've been through the worst of it just yet.”

“And therein lies the delusion and the deception with judging everything in terms of economic growth, or more precisely, changes in GDP.”
“For the true measure of an economic downturn is employment.”

“It's etched into the faces of people who no longer can adequately provide for their families, for the legions of small business owners who not only lose their livelihoods but exit with a pile of debt.”

“Just ask any treasurer who's been through an economic crisis. The impacts linger on for years in terms of lost revenue and higher social security expenditures.”

“It's ordinary workers who bear the brunt, particularly the young and those within a decade of retirement.”

“We've yet to see how many Australians resume their working lives, how many find themselves with earnings well short of their expectations.”

“We will never quite know how many lives are permanently disrupted by their inability to land a job in their chosen career. Nor will we count the cost.”

“The forgotten dreams and hopes of a generation are never quite captured in the percentage changes in GDP.”

The long road to jobs recovery

“The last official recession we endured, back in 1991, appears as a tiny aberration in the economic growth story.”

“It too only lasted a couple of quarters.”

“And the downturn wasn't that severe anyway, at least if you only consider GDP.”

“But the jobs numbers tell a very different story.”

“It wasn't until 2004 that the jobless rate dropped below 6 per cent.”

“It took 14 years to get back to the level it was prior to the beginning of that recession.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-07/buckle-up-for-a-long-rough-ride-out-of-recession/12635378

“Australians have moved on from hoarding supermarket food and bottle shop booze and have found a new obsession to spend up big on in the face of coronavirus.”

“It’s arrivederci rice and hello home furnishings as, content we now have fully stocked pandemic pantries, we move into nesting. That’s good news for the likes of Bunnings, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi which have seen an uptick in sales.”

“Analysis of credit and debit card transactions from Commonwealth Bank has shown Australians are purchasing less clothes and going for fewer haircuts. We’re even spending 42 per cent less on healthcare, despite being in a health crisis.”

“And while liquor store sales are soaring, leading to suggestions we’re all going to leave lockdown as newly minted alcoholics, the data reveals we’re actually spending less on booze overall given transactions in pubs have almost dried up.” 

The complete article can be accessed here:
www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/coronavirus-has-people-buying-home-improvement-items-over-alcohol-data-shows/news-story/7bf5ab3029bac1bc1f9df8cc4c7b290e